Building Bridges : How Swedish managers develop and nurture relationships to non-business actors in China

Abstract: Purpose: The purpose of the study is to extend the knowledge on how Swedish companies canbecome more embedded in the Chinese market by building relationships with political actors. Research question: How do Swedish managers develop and maintain relations with politicalactors in China, and how do they perceive the outcomes from such relations? Method: Qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews. Results: The results of the study shows that managers initially use local middlemen orconsultancies to get in contact with political actions. Further, they participate in variousactivities to build upon and develop that relationship, something that is argued by therespondents to be more time-consuming and extensive than in western countries. The outcomeof having these relationships is that firm could gain a competitive edge and the managers tobecome more efficient in their role. Contribution: This study contributes with additional research to the Extended BusinessNetwork and relationship building with non-business actors in China from a Swedishmanagerial perspective.